'PASSION' IN AUSTRALIA & IRELAND THIS WEEKENDU.K. DVD COMES OUT AUGUST 12

As you can see above, tomorrow night marks the Irish premiere of Brian De Palma's Passion at Triskel Christchurch. As it stands right now, this will be the only theatrical screening of Passion in either Ireland or the U.K. prior to its release on DVD in those territories August 12. Metrodome is not releasing a Blu-Ray of Passion, but just a bare-bones DVD, which Mike Sutton from The Digital Fix tells us has a "fairly good picture quality." The Movie Waffler, in association with Metrodome Distribution, are giving away three copies of the DVD.

Meanwhile, Passion has its Australian premiere today at the Melbourne International Film Festival, where it will also screen July 29 and August 8. (It will be available on Quickflix beginning August 28.)

How a once great filmmaker has fallen so badly with PASSION. I know De Palma doesn't care about logic in his films and is more concerned with over-the-top emotion. Nothing wrong with that as Hitchcock followed the same principle. PASSION is badly written with laugh-out dialogue. The scene where Rapace and McCadams have a sensitive cry-out moment together was so appallingly acted people were laughing out loud. This is a very subdued film without the complex craftsmanship of DRESSED TO KILL or FEMME FATALE. This is supposed to be an erotic thriller modelled on films such as BASIC INSTINCT and the brilliant DEMONLOVER. There's no erotic thriller elements to this film as the advertising would have us believe otherwise. Audience would have been expecting the psycho sexual violence of DRESSED TO KILL or BASIC INSTINCT but there happens to be very little.

Hopefully De Palma can be a more daring filmmaker with HAPPY VALLEY. PASSION is De Palma's least convincing film since WISE GUYS and the soft, boring MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE.

Hi, Harry-- I completely disagree. The "sensitive cry-out" scene is beautifully acted by Rachel, and I love how Noomi in this scene sort of reflects the audience with her reactions to Christine, first by not knowing what to say when Christine tells her that she loves her (not wanting to lose her job, she replies, "I do, too"). Then interrupting, "You have a twin sister?" Finally, after Christine's tearful story of tragedy, Isabelle simply feels too awkward not to comfort her by telling her she loves her.

I love PASSION and I would place it alongside RAISING CAIN on the De Palma shelf. The nightmare sequence at the end is one of his best ever.